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UCL alumni join the great and the good

24 May 2006

The latest update to the online version of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography includes three former UCL students.

Joseph Firth Bottomley Firth (Laws 1865), John Deakin Heaton (Medicine 1843) and Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu (English 1912) are among 127 new entries to the historical resource, which lists men and women who made their impact on British history between the twelfth and late twentieth century.

Joseph Firth Bottomley Firth (1842-1889) championed the reform of London's antiquated system of municipal government after leaving UCL, and went on to be elected to the first London County Council where he became deputy chairman. John Deakin Heaton (1817-1880) is best remembered in his native Leeds for his successful campaign to persuade the council to build its magnificent town hall, opened in 1858. Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu (1885-1959) enjoyed a successful academic career in South Africa and was president of the All-African Convention to defend the civil rights of Africans.

These three individuals join numerous other UCL graduates among the 55,684 people listed in the publication. To find out more about the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, use the link at the bottom of this article.